You learn from your mistakes

Longarone, 2 October 2019

The Belluno Civic Theatre will host the next corporate responsibility initiative sponsored by the Fondazione De Rigo - HEART. Established last year at the request of the De Rigo family to mark the company’s 40th anniversary, the Fondazione is working more and more towards supporting international social projects dedicated to future generations.

The evening will include the awarding of 76 student grants to the most deserving students among the children of the Group’s employees on an international level. This project is renewed every year and De Rigo places great faith in it. The event will also be an occasion to meet the young people involved, offering them an opportunity for growth and a truly special experience.

“YOU LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES” will be the topic of the meeting between the audience and an exceptional guest - Igor Cassina, the “gymnast from outer space” who won gold in the men's horizontal bar at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. 

From the stage, which he will share with the winners, Igor will describe his own personal experience of sports, providing a concrete example of the importance of having a dream and of building and pursuing that same dream with commitment and perseverance, without ever being afraid to dare.

“Whenever I am asked to talk to young people and advise them on how to deal with life’s challenges, I always say that talent is nothing without discipline. Commitment and perseverance make all the difference - that, and the ability to move beyond an obstacle by looking deep into your heart,” says Igor Cassina.

“As a family, we are proud to have set up a Fondazione that works to support the next generations. Working locally first, and gradually expanding to the national and international level, we hope to offer young people an incentive and an opportunity to build a future that is truly their own. The core message of this event is that they should never give up, because we can all learn a lot from our mistakes," says Barbara De Rigo, President of the Fondazione De Rigo - HEART.

The evening will also comprise another important event, it too devised to celebrate courage and the ability to transform life’s obstacles and limitations into opportunities. Oscar De Pellegrin, a multi-award winning Paralympic athlete, will be on stage to present ASSI Onlus - a non-profit organisation active in the area of Belluno, which he personally chairs - and its innovative “Favolando on the road” project, whose local initiatives the Fondazione De Rigo HEART has chosen to finance.  

The Fondazione was drawn to the project, not just for its social value, but also for its creativity and originality. The initiative stems from the personal experience of ASSI Onlus member Francesca Mussoi, who works as a teacher and as an author of children’s books. Having been diagnosed a disability, Francesca never gave up. Instead, she decided to set up a travelling library conceived with the idea of encouraging children and young people with serious disabilities, aged 18 and under, to read and study, thus allowing them to unleash their imagination.